Ease Into Health With Green Juice and Smoothies
The FDA recommends 3-5 servings of vegetables a day and 2-4 servings of fruit. While the US Government may not be a reliable source for dietary recommendations, I think we can all agree that there is goodness in fruit and veggies. The health benefits are endless.
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can:
- prevent disease
- reverse disease
- lower cholesterol
- clear skin
- help you sleep
- add clarity
Even though we know how good fruit and vegetables are for us, it can be a challenge to eat enough of them throughout the day. Sometimes we are too busy and sometimes we would rather eat a less healthy option. Even as a vegetarian, I don’t always make the best food choices and know that I don’t eat enough of the good stuff.
Note: this post is not just for vegetarians. I’m not a doctor, and please check with yours if you have any concerns, but I think most of us will benefit from upping our fruit and veggie intake.
When was the last time you were consistently eating 5+ servings of fruits and veggies a day? While there is nothing easier than grabbing a piece of fruit, the most effective way to meet your daily quota is to juice and/or blend your fruits and veggies. I recently read Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet
Change now.
Love now.
Live now.
Even if you aren’t fighting cancer or another disease, why not prevent future damage, increase your energy and start feeling and looking better right now?
I am a really picky eater so I get it if you think blending up a cucumber, avocado, banana and lettuce sounds terrible. I thought the same thing. Imagine my surprise when I found out that exact combination tastes like a banana. When making the same smoothie for my daughter, I added a few strawberries and raspberries so the drink was red instead of green and she loved it.
I am drinking about 24 oz of green juice 5 or 6 days a week and a smoothie 4 or 5 times a week, + other meals/snacks. By making my juice and smoothie the base of my diet, I am prioritizing fruits and veggies for maximum health. While I change things up occasionally, I’m typically enjoying the following recipes adapted from Crazy Sexy Diet
Green Juice
- Handful of Romaine or Rainbow Chard
- Handful of Kale
- 3- 4 Handfuls of Baby Spinach
- 4 Fuji Apples
- 1 Lemon
- 1/2 Head Celery
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Yellow Pepper
Don’t worry about exact amounts. I use all organic produce and this is enough juice for 2 days.
Smoothie Recipe
- 1/2 avocado
- handful of romaine or spinach leaves
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 cup coconut water or apple juice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
I don’t use ice in the smoothie, but instead, cut up and freeze banana chunks. While it’s best to use a 3:1 ratio (3 veggies to every 1 fruit), if you need something sweeter to start, add more fruit and slowly back it off. I think it’s easier to get used to the taste without the extra sweetener, but do what it takes to make it work for you.
What is the difference between juicing and blending?
For starters, you use a juicer for juicing and blender for blending. A juicer extracts all the fiber from your fruits and veggies and requires very little from your digestive system in getting nutrients and enzymes to the right places. A smoothie is made in the blender and combines the whole fruit and veggie with all of the fiber. Green juice gives you instant energy because your body doesn’t have to work for it and smoothies deliver the fiber your body needs.
If you have been thinking about cutting refined sugar and processed foods, or cutting back, instead add green juice and smoothies first. Green juice kills my sugar cravings and smoothies are filling enough to take away additional snack cravings. Instead of depriving yourself with another diet, start with a healthy base. It will make other changes so much easier.
To read more about the benefits of juicing and blending, equipment recommendations + awesome recipes, check out Crazy Sexy Diet
In other news:
This is unrelated, but important and time sensitive. Two of my lovely friends are offering awesome writing resources this summer.
- Beverly Army Williams will be offering writing prompts for you each week in July through her Open Road Writing Road Trip Project. This has a really fun twist, so check it out.
- Don’t miss Tammy Strobel’s Writing in the Digital Age. She is a beautiful writer and I have learned so much from her. She’s offering a 20% discount on her course if you register by Thursday, June 28th at 9am Pacific.
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22 Responses to “Ease Into Health With Green Juice and Smoothies”
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I’ve just started experimenting with making smoothies, and I have a question: when you make enough for two days, do you just refrigerate it? Do you give it another blend the next day? Thanks for sharing the recipes!
And, thank you for sharing about the Road Trip Project!
Bev, I make enough juice for 2 days, but only blend one smoothie at a time.
Sounds like a green juice I drink
My husband and I fell out of the green juice habit this summer and kept wondering why we were feeling sluggish. Great reminder! We started again today! Thanks!
I don’t own a juicer but I love making green smoothies! This is such an easy way to get so many nutrients in one glass. I look forward to trying your smoothie recipe.
Can you use coconut milk instead of water? I have coconut milk and would like to not buy anything new at the store. I want to try to use up some of my stuff before any new purchases.
Kristi,
I don’t see why not, although I’ve never tried that. Let me know if you do and what you think.
thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for sharing these recipes!
I’ve always wanted to try juicing but I worry that I won’t stick with it enough to justify the cost of a juicer.
I can understand that! My parents bought me a juicer several years ago. I can’t believe it’s still running, but they really seem to last. I don’t have a super high end juicer, but it does the trick.
Hi, I nominated your blog for a lovely blog award. I hope you don’t mind. Project 333 is amazing.
Thanks Stephanie!
I just wanted to say that I tried the smoothie recipe after my run last night. It was so very good. At first, I felt I may have wanted more coconut water, but then I realized that the flavors all meld together perfectly. Not one stood out to me and that’s a good blend. I did add a handful of ice though. My roomie and I had a half of glass and can’t wait to make it again.
Thanks!
Glad you liked it Kristi, Try this one too:
1/2 avocado
1/2 cucumber
handful baby spinach
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup mixed berries (I like strawberries and raspberries)
1/4 cup coconut water.
Yummmmmm (color is not pretty but it tastes delicious)
“Instead of depriving yourself with another diet, start with a healthy base.” THIS. More people need to hear this!
What great timing on this post! I just watched the documentary “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead”. It inspired me to add fruits and veggies to my diet. I’ve been making kale smoothies for breakfast this week. They are surprisingly tasty and I definitely feel an increase in my energy level!
That was a great Documentary! Don’t miss Forks Over Knives either.
Yes to vegetables and fruit.
What is wrong with people that they can no longer eat proper food? Why does everything have to be “juiced” and “blended” like baby food? I think this is a ridiculous craze.
Personally, I use the strong teeth given to me by nature to bite and chew my way properly and healthily through vegetables and fruit and that does my body (and my digestion) far better than slurping a green slime – think about it.
MelD, Thanks for your feedback and I can appreciate your thoughts. I still eat food and chew my meals, but smoothies and juice help me get extra servings of fruits and veggies each day. It’s not even noon here today and with smoothies and juicing, I’ve enjoyed avocado, kale, cucumber, carrot, strawberries, raspberries, banana, spinach, lemon, apple, pear, and celery.
It’s unlikely that I would have sat down at breakfast and eaten a plate full of greens, but thanks to juicing and blending, I can still enjoy the health benefits (and they taste great too!)
One of my coworkers drins green smoothies. I’ve sampled a few and they taste really good, so I’ve been interested in adding them to my diet so I can be more healthy. Is there a machine that does both juicing and blending?